Ken Graham, National Hurricane Center Director, as Hurricane Florence is set to hit the Carolinas as a Category 4 storm late Thursday. Graham, a 24-year veteran of the National Weather Center, warned of heavy rain, high wind and catastrophic life-threatening storm surge.

Quick Quotes

“The American people expect us to get our work done…. we can successfully fund nearly 90% of the federal government on time … something Congress has not been able to do in many years.”

Senate Appropriations Chairman Richard Shelby (R-AL) as Congress reaches the first of 3 gov't spending packages intended to avert a federal shutdown on October 1st, by postponing a funding fight over a wall at the Mexico border until after the Nov. 6 elections.

Quick Quotes

“…we are open to and already in the process of coordinating.”

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders on a letter from North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un to the White House requesting a second meeting with President Trump. Last month, President Trump scrapped Secretary of State's scheduled trip to N. Korea citing lack of progress. The June meeting in Singapore cost $12M.

Quick Quotes

“What the prices are for those 3 new products … that’s going to be the key.”

Robert Cihra, Guggenheim Partners analyst, on expectations Apple will unveil 3 new iPhones on Wednesday based on the iPhone X design. The entry-level model may cost as little as $600 in an effort to boost iPhone sales, which have been flat even as Apple's stock climb has valued the company at more than $1T.

Quick Quotes

“It is 50 times more powerful than heroin. It is very inexpensive. It is coming primarily from China and coming primarily through our U.S. Postal Service, if you can believe it.”

Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) as the Senate looks to pass a bill this week to stop flow of opioids through the mail. Under the bill, USPS is required to track sender's name, address & package contents for nearly all int'l mail shipments, including all from China. FedEx, UPS & DHL are already required to do so.

Quick Quotes

“She was very cooperative.”

Brian Hale, Tuscarawas County Sheriff’s Deputy, after charging a Giant Eagle grocery store employee with felony theft after she nibbled on deli meat, daily for 8 years. The store's loss prevention manager calculated the 3-5 slices of ham per shift was worth $9,200. Authorities say she also occasionally ate salami.

Sources

House, Senate Reach Partial Funding to Help Avert Shutdown:https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-09-10/house-senate-reach-deal-funding-part-of-government-after-oct-1
Republicans and Democrats are negotiating two other packages of funding bills for votes this month that would fund the rest of the federal government except the departments of State, Commerce, Justice and Homeland Security, as well as the science agencies. These agencies would stay at current funding levels until either November or December, and they could be the parts of the government that would be shut down if Trump carries out his threat.
The Monday spending agreement was reached after lawmakers agreed not to raise the annual budget cap to pay for new veterans’ health spending — creating a future shortfall. They also agreed to Democratic demands and dropped a Republican plan to suspend a number of regulations as part of the measure. The bill provides funds to pay congressional interns for the first time and maintains a pay freeze for lawmakers.